Way of the Shield Hero
by Burst-in-Flames Tiger
Summary: Naofumi Iwatani is transferred into an otherworldly reality, where he must assume the role of the Shield Hero. Step into his journey as he struggles against all odds and saves the world. One step at a time.
1. The Royal Summons

Inside a dimly lit room, a hand reaches out toward the light switch. With a yawn, he slowly enters the bathroom of his small apartment room. Undressing himself and looking at the mirror, he finds himself a few small bruises around his waist and right arm. The man cannot help but clicks his tongue as he winces in pain as his fingers touches the bruises. He confirms to himself the placements of his bruises and goes toward the sprinkler. Undressing himself bare, he then lets himself soak in the comfort of warm water.

Coming out of the bath soaked, the man picks up a bright green towel and wipes himself dry with it. With the towel hanging on his head and a single boxer on himself, he slides the window of his room open and looks outside. There is the distinct sound of people commuting to work, and a few laughter that follows the noisy footsteps. He dries his hair a bit more, focusing at its tips, as he looks at the grocery store that slowly finds itself with customers. A few bikers pass by with reckless abandon that they almost run over one of the grocery's staff. The small-statured man picks himself up and screams foul at the girls that are honking back their bike's horns at him from far down the road of Pink's alley. Seeing enough of the morning festivities, the man closes and locks the window before dressing himself for his Saturday.

The streets of Kamurocho is always bright, be it during the night or during the day. Naofumi Iwatani has lived in this town for a year, and he has properly mapped out the small city block that is brimming with life as if it is the back of his hand. Coming out of his small apartment room, he casually jogs for ten minutes toward the public library. It is a bright morning with nary a cloud. The sun is shining, but the heat is cozily tickling his skin instead of forcing the sweat out of it. As he continues his walk, he figures that a bottle of cold tea would be ideal in his time spent on reading books.

The nice bookkeeping woman allows him to take drinks into the library and he has done it out of habit for a few weeks now. After a few jingle of a hundred yen down the coin chute, Naofumi picks a cold can of grape-flavored soda and a cold bottle of medium-sized oolong tea. After he picks the two item with one hand, he fishes out an all-purpose small bag from his back pocket and places the two items inside it. It is for the simple reason of convenience, nothing more.

The walk to the library is peaceful and uneventful. He can see the sights of people in faux-stylish coat or thuggish get-ups walking in groups as well as civilians in suits commuting to work, something he soon will do in about three years, but it is just the daily occurrence in this city block. Kamurocho is a place where people gather, though the reason why is another matter entirely. For Naofumi, however, he just wants to live in a cheap-rent apartment room that is close to his college of choice.

"Good morning, Iwatani-san. The building's security officer greets him as he walks by. Naofumi greets him back as he walks up the stairs to the second floor. The building is new as a part of the recent revitalization project. The library is in the rooftop of the building next to this one, with its interior spread over three other buildings. It is a privately run library, as is with everything else in Kamurocho that is not the police office, and its owner is supposedly a yakuza. One of the specialty of the library is a small cafe independently running at the back of the library. The library is famous for letting readers borrow their books and read it while drinking or eating at the cafe behind it, but Naofumi finds himself another way to enjoy his time when reading in that library.

Entering the library, he smells the nice fragrance of lime in the air. The bookkeeper behind the counter looks up from the book in her hand and meets her eyes with Naofumi's. She is a woman in her late thirties, but people does not know that when they look at her face. She looks as young as a woman does in her early twenties even Naofumi cannot believe that she is already twice his age. However, admiring Ms. Sawamura is not something that Naofumi wants to do today. She sets the bribe on the counter, which the bookkeeper takes and exchanges with a key in a metallic ring. The exchange occurs without a sound, the two fully knowing their interests and pass on only the bare necessities.

With the key jingling in his hand, he goes past the entrance of the cafe and into one corner of the library. In the blueprints, there should not be a room behind the bookcase, but with a certain trick with a book cover and his key, a secret part of the library opens silently. Naofumi quietly walks into the secret room hidden from onlooker's sight.

What greets Naofumi is the usual room where he passes by his time reading books that he fancies. The story behind this room is that a former regular of this library often uses the room to record events that transpires in the underworld. A full stack of document's worth of documents pertaining to the records of transactions to the details of projects that happens behind the public eyes ends up in a neat and colorful files. Each file in the cabinet has engravings that represent the clan that executes the events and there exists subsidiary information about the notable key figures of every events that belongs to their own specific file. One file with the engraving of a dragon rising to the sky takes one-third of a shelf's row itself, rivaling even the file of the clans in the same row. Naofumi saves that file in particular for last, because the size of that file indicates at least two months or more of his life.

For now, he wants to resume on one particular book. He finds the book yesterday after scrounging through the pile of irrelevant documents that is still in the editing process. It seems that the owner of these documents are still alive, but has not had the chance to resume his works. In that mountain of book is a single book in weird engravings. It is a hard cover book with the engraving of a shield, and its publication is of independent nature with how ornamental the cover is. Just from skimming its cover, Naofumi can see how important the book is.

The book records the legendary four sacred weapons. The weapons are Sword, Spear, Bow, and Shield. That is what he finds out from skimming the first two pages of the book, and he intends to continue reading further after running out of time yesterday.

After getting comfortable on the only chair in the room, he opens the book past the third page and finds himself blinded by the light.

With eyes shot wide, Naofumi Iwatani disappears from the room, leaving only an unopened bottle of beverage and a soft thud. With the entrance of the room closing itself automatically, one would not know that a person has gone missing in the library today.

Naofumi wakes up in a throne room, standing above the red carpet. He blinks once before asserting his situation. He checks his body and finds relieve in knowing his belongings, his wallet especially, are intact. Although the shield that seemingly merge itself into his right hand is making him dumbfounded.

At the far end of the room is a king sitting in his throne. He is old, but not yet decrepit and not young either. Beside his large throne is a smaller throne where a redhead teen sits prettily, and Naofumi argues that the way she behaves is as charming as her smiling face. The woman notices Naofumi's gaze and waves at him. To his left, one man with blond hair tied into a ponytail waves his free left hand back at the redhead with a thick blush. The man with spiky hair to the left of the blonde-haired person is unsure of what to do, especially with the bow that he is holding in his hands. To Naofumi's right, is a sword-user with black hair looking very calculating to his surroundings.

The situation does not settle in Naofumi's head until the king clears his throat and stands up to greet the four of them. "Greetings, brave heroes and welcome to Melromarc Kingdom. My name is Aultcry, King Aultcry, and with the power the kingdom bestows upon me I hereby dub the four of you heroes of the Melromarc Kingdom!"

The knights that are stationed in the throne room claps their hands as they cheer jovially. The redhead sitting on the smaller throne slowly claps with a soft smile as she aims her gaze at Naofumi, but he does not take her advances.

"Heroes?" the blonde-hair says with an innocent tone. "Well, that explains the spear but what are we fighting against?"

"Now that is a good question, Spear Hero..." trails the King as he waits for the blonde hero to say something in response, eyes expecting something out of him.

"My apologies Your Highness, my name is Motoyasu Kitamura," Motoyasu bows his head rather happily. "You said that we are heroes, right? But what exactly are we fighting against if we're heroes?"

"Very observant of you, Motoyasu," the king praises. "The Melromarc Kingdom is facing the threat of otherworldly monsters that is coming through portals we call Waves. I am sorry to implore you on such a short notice, Heroes, but the Dragon Hourglass signaling the next waves have already started and I wish for you heroes to help us. And I do believe introductions are in order." The king looks at the four heroes from left to right, the sword to the bow, before he continues. "You may introduce yourselves."

"Then let me introduce myself," the black-haired sword hero says. "I'm Ren Amaki, 16 years old. Previously, I'm a high school student."

"I'm Itsuki Kawasumi, 17 years old," the spiky-haired bow hero says. "I'm also a high school student."

"You already know me, but my name is Motoyasu Kitamura," the blonde-haired spear hero says. "I'm 21 years old and a university student."

"I see, Motoyasu of the spear, Itsuki of the bow, and Ren of the sword," and in the silence that follows the king turns toward Naofumi, the shield hero. 'Ah... yes, the Shield Hero. Isn't it proper etiquette to introduce yourself, Shield Hero?"

"Naofumi Iwatani," he replies in a cold tone, with both eyes locking into the king's own demeaning gaze. "20 years old, college student." There is reservation in his voice tone. There is an air of dread that Naofumi can feel seething all over him. He has doubts about the king, and he fully wants to know if there is any ulterior motive behind this urgent gathering.

"Very well," scoffs the king at Naofumi's curt reply. "Now everyone, if you would check your statuses."

"Status?" Naofumi asks at the other heroes, who give him a horrified and concerned look. "What's that?"

"Seriously?" Motoyasu replies. "You can see a square icon before you, right? Just focus on trying to open it to see your status."

Naofumi looks closely at what appears to be a square icon and it opens into a wide screen of status detailing his name and equipment at the top. Below his name and equipment is his statistic parameter lists, from the top in a clockwise order, Attack, Agility, Magic, MP (Magic Points), HP (Health Points), and Defense. One particular part of this ID card looking screen is his defensive capability reaching a disproportionate amount in comparison to his practically nonexistent strength. He tries to move his body, but he believes to be as fit as before his transport here. Is there a mistake to his statistics?

Naofumi notices that Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu are talking to each other about the system of their statuses. They have different opinions about what it looks like, but all of them agree it looks like it comes from a game. Although Naofumi has doubts about it since his transfer is by a book's power.

"Then from this point henceforth, we will introduce the heroes' companions," not allowing Naofumi to ponder, the king raises his hand and the door behind the heroes opens to reveal an assortment of character walking in and moving towards each of the heroes. Some are smiling excitedly; many faces are are brimming with anticipation and excitement, while some are hiding their excitement through a thin veils of facade. As they walk towards each heroes, the king continues. "These people will help you defeat the waves. Each of them has decided on which heroes they are going to work under, so please welcome them with open arms."

For Ren, five people pledges their loyalty to him. All of his party members' looks respectable, with abundant protections in their equipment. There are four man and one girl in total, each of them looking quite fresh and skilled. If Naofumi can guess, Ren's party will become an aggressive attacker group that favors brute force over finesse, judging by how strength-focus the group looks.

By Itsuki's side are three people that seem to be the perfect complement for his long-range weapon. A single attacker with large muscular male build, another male supposedly the healer or mage of the party under a cloak, and a female warrior that seems to be the bridge between the offensive and the defensive strategies. Though smaller than Ren, Itsuki's four-man team is of the balanced side.

Then there is Motoyasu's party, which consists of four women. Naofumi recognizes one of the girls as the girl that is sitting to the side of the king. Just from appearance alone, Motoyasu's party seems to be a party that favors appearance rather than ability as each member is a pretty girl of their own right. If anything, Naofumi is uncertain if this party is a good thing or a bad thing.

"Is that all?" the king asks, "but I don't see anyone mingling with the Shield Hero. It seems that you are not as popular as these other three heroes."

The king is correct; no one stands close to Naofumi. Standing alone at the pitying and demeaning sight of the people in the room does not faze Naofumi, however. With a soft sigh with a smile following after, Naofumi turns toward the king. "It's alright. I think I can manage fighting alone for now."

The reaction to that is a few murmurs and giggles directed at him, but Naofumi does not pay it any mind. If he does feel like he needs a help later on, he is sure to be able to find it if he looks hard enough.

"Is that so," the king strokes his beard, but Naofumi swears he hears a tongue clicking from him. "Then the Shield Hero will receive a bigger share of funds from the kingdom, but this will not happen again. Do you understand, Shield Hero?"

"Sure," Naofumi confidently says. It is not as if having zero party members will kill him. "I can manage just fine."

With a hand gesture, one of the king's attendants walks into the room with bags of money on top of pillows. As the king promises, Naofumi's share is bigger than the other heroes' coins, being eight hundred of silver coins in total.

"Please ascertain that this monthly funds is of the adequate amount before you leave the throne room," and to the word 'monthly' Motoyasu's head recoils in shock. The idea of gaining that much capital every month must be unthinkable for him. "Yes, all of you heard it right. The kingdom will give five hundred silver coins to the heroes as part of their monthly allowance. Do care not to spend all of them in a single day. Be wise with your spending."

"Understood," Motoyasu replies excitedly, but cut short when the redhead of the party, the same woman who sits beside the king's, asks him a question. "What is it, Myne?"

"You see, Motoyasu, is it fine with you if I tag along with the Shield Hero instead?" says Myne.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. The truth is, my heart bleeds to see not a single person by his side. I will help him until he finds more party members."

"That's so nice of you. Alright, go for it, but know that you can come back anytime."

"Thank you," Myne gives him a smile that makes him blush. Afterward he turns to the Shield Hero and waves at him. "Hero, wait a minute."

Naofumi turns at the redhead. "What is it?"

"I'm coming with you until you are able to find someone to join your party."

In response, Naofumi jingles his bag of money. "How much do you want?"

"Don't be silly, Hero," Myne seems offended by Naofumi's remark. "I don't want any of your allowance. I'm genuinely trying to help you. My name is Myne Suphia. It is a pleasure to work with you."

Naofumi has reservations about this development, but he trusts his gut feeling to allow it for this particular instance. There is something sinister lurking in the background, as if it slowly crawls up his spine. If he is not careful, the feeling may choke him and leaves him to die.

"Thank you," Naofumi replies. "I'll be in your care, Myne."

"Is that all? Then all of you may go to prepare for the next wave as you please. Good luck, heroes of Melromarc." The king fills his words with a sense of finality, and soon after the large door where the party member comes in opens. With that, the people in the throne room walks out of the throne room and Myne leads Naofumi toward the streets of Melromarc Kingdom.

Naofumi expects to see a medieval-looking cityscape and finds himself pleasantly surprised. Everything looks like something that comes out of a painting, what with clothes that seems to have come from the 10th to 15th century that people wears and the architecture of buildings that makes up the market district of Melromarc. Myne promises Naofumi that she knows a store where they can find an upgrade to their equipment.

As the both of them walks the main street, Naofumi tries his best not to stare at the food stalls and peddlers lining at the side of the road for profit. Occasionally, he can see a few people walking into a small, dirty alleyway, and comes out a few people short. Though the chatter of the people drowns the scream, he can pick a few moments when unnatural sounds echoes from somewhere in the city. Adding to that, the way Myne leads him is not quite right either, forcing him to take a roundabout way through a district that is two times richer in looks than the marketplace.

"Look, look, Hero, this is one of the best restaurants in town!" Myne says as she points at what appears to be a high-class restaurant. Its entrance of marble white design and a few people in armor standing by the entrance creates an air of forceful glamour. "We should eat there sometimes. I heard they have the best seafood."

"Is this town near the sea?"

"Well, no, but does it matter?"

Naofumi thinks about it for a second, before nodding. "Alright, let's dine here sometime soon. I want to try this world's cuisine as well."

"Then how about we go now?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Naofumi says. "Do you see those two people in nice armors? Those are probably the establishment's bouncers. We should come back after we make some reservations."

"Aww, can't you use your title as the Shield Hero to get in?"

'Sure, but I won't," Naofumi smiles at Myne. "That would be an abuse of my title. I would prefer that we get in the normal way." Naofumi snorts before giving a small laugh. "And I don't want to flaunt my title when inviting a woman to lunch, you know?"

"Oh, is that so?" Myne sounds disappointed. "Well, maybe next time."

Naofumi nods, he wishes he could just go in as is too. Maybe someday soon the both of them can dine at that fine establishment together.

With a few more trips of window-shopping, the two of them return to the main road and finds themselves before a blacksmith shop. The building itself is small when Naofumi compares it with a previous shop he and Myne window shops in and is a little dilapidated, but the entrance is very clean and looks the newest addition for the shop. From the window, Naofumi can see a few weapons being displayed, but all of them seemingly of the top quality.

Entering the shop, a man standing at 6'2 greets the both of them. The person looks like a blacksmith, and judging by his position behind the counter he is also the shopkeeper. His face looks young, but rough around the edges with sideburns and a small patch of black beard spiking down. Although Naofumi admits, his greeting smile seems more genuine than the people from the castle's men.

"Hello there, are you two new in town?" the blacksmith greets openly. Naofumi seems to be able to get along with this man. "What do you want? I got swords, armors, and as long as it's steel or leather I can patch something custom too."

"May I see your weapon selections please?"

"Ah, you want something to use with your shield, huh? I got you covered," the blacksmith says as he gives Naofumi a sword as big as the hero's arm, but not heavy enough for Naofumi to hold with both hands. "One of the finest iron I got in store, only 98 silver coins. I'll throw in a leather scabbard for 100 if you want a set."

Before Naofumi could agree with a good-sounding purchase, however, the weapon sparks in his hand and flies with great speed away from Naofumi. It launches itself into the air before stabbing itself into the wooden floor. "What the hell?"

"Whoa, that's a first. Are you cursed or something?" the blacksmith asks. "Don't tell me, are you the Shield Hero?"

"I'm afraid so. Why is that?"

"I think you can't use other weapons except shields, Hero," Myne chirps in after fishing out what looks like an expensive set of armors and a single blade in a patterned sheathe. "It's a shame, but maybe this shop sells shield that you can use instead?"

As if on cue, a popup message in red square appears. Written on it is the message: 'Legendary Weapon Rule Violation. The Hero may not use any weapons aside from their assigned weapons with the intention of fighting.' It is precisely as what Myne says.

The blacksmith lets out a thinking hum, hand on his chin with his index scratching his goatee. "Well, I do have some, but I don't exactly have anything good that isn't better than your shield I'm afraid," the blacksmith sighs. He ruffles the back of his head as he looks apologetically towards Naofumi. "Look, Shield Hero—"

"Naofumi is fine," before he can continue, Naofumi cuts him mid-sentence. "I don't do that well with formalities."

"Erhard," the blacksmith, Erhard, smiles. "Look, Naofumi, I can't sell you any weapons or shields, but you can at least wear better armors. As a matter of fact, I think you need some more covers yourself."

Erhard is right. Fighting in a simple t-shirt under a jacket and a designer brand pants does not seem to be the ideal choice. The king says the waves are full of monsters, and if that is the case, he needs the right amount of protections. There is the chance that these monsters are more lethal than the faunas in his old world.

"What can I get with fifty silver coins?" In addition, before he forgets, Naofumi adds another condition to his offer. "That's fifty silver coins each for my equipment and hers," and to that Myne flinches, putting back what looks like an expensive looking breastplate. "I don't want to use my funds in one place, you see. No offense of course."

"Don't worry man, none taken. All the items here are all of top quality. However, I understand if you are rationing your funds if you want to live long. Tell you what, I'll give both of you some mighty fine discounts."

"Really? Thanks a lot Erhard."

"I can't just let a potential loyal customer walk to another establishment, you know?'

"I'll come back here if I need some metalwork stuff done," Naofumi assures Erhard, which brings out a big smile out of him. "You got my word."

"Great, great, let me see if there's something I can give you from one of my finer collections."

"Hey, can't you spend more money on my equipment?" Myne says as Erhard walks to the back of the shop. Naofumi pauses as he looks at what Myne is wearing. The armor she wears, which consists of a breast and stomach plate, arms-guards that leaves her shoulders open, and legs-guards with steel boots that protect her legs. "I'm not sure it's wise to have me fight in cheap armors, right?"

"I'll try to keep it 50:50. You get 50 coins, I get 50 coins."

"That's too few. A decent armor costs roughly 100 at the least!"

'It's only been a day. We have to ration our allowance."

"But still—"

"Sorry, but bear with me for this once, Myne. Once we have a steady supply of income I'm going to buy a good set of armor for you."

There is no reply from Myne, whose head is turning away from Naofumi. It seems that he has made Myne mad by the looks of it. But he cannot afford to spoil a party member without knowing how much a silver coin is actually worth in this world. For now, he just has to tough it out and perseveres emotionally.

"Found good looking second hands for you both—"and Erhard pauses. "What's wrong with you two acting so distant all of a sudden? Lovers quarrel?" There are no reactions from Myne, but Naofumi can feel the awkward air that is setting in. "I'll just leave these on the counter. You can pay me after the size matches."

Naofumi wears his leather armor of black and green color, while Myne receives a pair of light bronze shoulder pads and a thick leather waist-guard. Both of their upgrades are second hand goods of good quality Erhard willingly sells for 80 silver coins. Myne insists that the both of them are underprepared to fight, but Naofumi has faith that Myne's swordsmanship is enough to defeat the monsters outside of the kingdom's walls.

After a long walk, they arrive at a grassland outside of the city. Looking for monsters to kill, the both of them sees a bouncy orange ball thingy jumping around excitedly, and this prompts Naofumi to pick a fight with them. At his command, the two of them lunges at the swarm of balls and defeats them one by one.

Naofumi counts at least eleven of these balloons jumping around. Without hesitation, Myne cuts against one of the balloon's center flesh and it pops in a loud bang. Not wanting to lose, Naofumi grapples one balloons that are away from its school and begins pummeling at one of the balloons until it pops with a popup that reads 'Naofumi 1 EXP.' With the destruction of the orange ball, he turns to look at Myne who is busy taking on three balloons at the same time. For all her talk about not being good enough to fight monsters, she is capable enough to pull her own weight.

By the time Myne finishes the last of the three, Naofumi finishes with two. Moreover, after a relatively uneventful rhythmical fight of pummels and slashes, the total count reaches a Naofumi 4 to Myne's 7. In total, Naofumi gains 4 experience in a single round of fights. This only highlights the disparity of fighting style of the shield against the sword, and if what Naofumi is thinking is right, then it is going to be the disparity between the shield against all of offensive-use weapons like spears and bows. However, with the closeness in kill counts as for now, Naofumi tries not to lose heart about it.

The two of them spends thirty minutes defeating wild orange balloons, and they still have time until the sun sets. After finding another school of slimes, Naofumi tries to do something differently. Keeping Myne to watch his back, Naofumi rushes toward one of the balloon enemy that looks like a cracked egg and jumps above it. Then with a shield he points down, he slams the ball creature against his full body weight and it instantly dies with its insides spilling into the grass. This enemy gives Naofumi a 2 in experience totaling it into 6 so far.

"Hero, the egg spill is pretty stinky. Don't let it get into your clothes or shield," Myne says as she pinches the entrance of her nostrils. "Do I have to defeat these creatures?"

"Hey, if you don't want it then that's more experience for me." Naofumi does not waste any time before body slamming another poor egg yolk into the grass, and then another one, and then another one, and then another two, with his records being a group of five so far after experimenting with Myne's placement. Myne does not kill even one of the new group of enemies and only helps through herding the crowd into a close-knit group formation for Naofumi to body slam. However, it is a team effort, and without Myne he cannot possibly do the strategy.

In total, Naofumi gains 38 EXP in the following fights and levels up to level 2. With the popup window, Myne congratulates him. "Good job, Shield Hero. This has been a very thrilling day, so how about we return to the inn and rest?"

"Naofumi."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is not Shield Hero, Myne," Naofumi turns his head towards Myne, whose eyes are gazing straight at him. "I don't mind formalities, but I'd prefer if you call me by my name."

"Is that so?'' Myne muses to herself. "I'll think about it. Now, the sun is about to set. I would advise that we return to the city. I'm not sure camping so unprepared is a good idea." In addition, indeed as she says, the sun is about to set. They have been going at it for a long time it seems, and Naofumi is ready to take Myne's advice.

"You're right, let's return. I don't want to get ambushed at night by animals."

With no complaints from Myne, the two of them returns to the city and stays at a very wealthy establishment. The pay for a single night is 30 silver with dinner and breakfast as complimentary, but Naofumi thinks that it's still too expensive for his taste. Naofumi dislikes the idea of sharing the same room with a girl he knows nothing about, so he pays for two rooms instead, and this cost almost double his initial purchase.

All of his regret subsides after the two of them eats at the inn's bar, where the meat dish is something out of his world, literally. The food is so good that Naofumi asks for the chef that makes the dish, and compliments him. With a bow from the chef, Naofumi orders another of the same dish. Myne, however, does not even try to touch her food. This concerns Naofumi, as this problem may be his fault somehow.

"Not having much appetite?" Naofumi starts. "Is the food not to your liking?"

"I seldom eat food at the inns, you see. Thank you for worrying about me, Hero."

"Is that so?" Naofumi raises a brow. "Speaking of, what's your relationship to the king, anyway? I see that you sit beside him when we first arrive."

"I'm his stand-in advisor," she answers quickly without hesitation. "It's rare to see the summoning of the four heroes, so I used my connections to pull some strings."

"Is that so?" Naofumi returns to his meal after the topic does not pique his interest. "I'm half expecting someone more in power."

There is no response from Myne, and this makes Naofumi sigh.

"Look, I'll stop beating around the bushes here," Naofumi resumes. "What's your angle? I am not seeing your endgame here. You don't ask for profit, you insist on getting better equipment for yourselves so I thought you are a con at first, but you're being a complete pushover about it so that might not be the case."

"Hero, do you doubt my kindness?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"A kind person would want the best interest for the people they help. I thought about it and wondered if you are just reserved, but one thing makes me sure that you are having an ulterior motive here. Spit it out."

"What are you talking about, Sir Hero?" Myne questions, her face showing genuine concern. "What is this one thing that makes you so unsure about me? I do have the best interest for you in mind. I introduce you to one of the best blacksmith in town, accompanying you to get some experience out of town, and I'm sure this is one of the best establishment in Castle Town."

"Do you mean this is the best establishment? Where you seldom eat their food?"

"Well, I—" Myne chews her lips, her eyes darting somewhere else before returning toward Naofumi. "I just found out about this place, Sir Hero. That is all," Myne picks up a few of the meat loaf inside her plate and eats it as if it is delightful and delicious. She accentuates the sound of each meat that she chews, one at a time, before she swallows the chunks of meat as quickly as one gulp. "It's good food, see?"

Naofumi sighs.

Finishing his meal, Naofumi places the key to Myne's room on the table. He stands up and turns away from her before walking to his own room. "I'm heading to bed. Tomorrow I want to check on something."

"Wait," Myne calls to him. "Sir Hero, how about a drink before we sleep? Let's do it as a toast to celebrate a good first day for the both of us?"

"I don't drink," Naofumi's reply is quick and dry. He is outright refusing even the thought of it. "Good night, Myne."

After walking up the stairs and into his own room, double-checking that his key fits into the room's door, he quickly locks the door behind him. He scans the room; on the three corners of the room. He sees a couch and a table on one, a wardrobe on the other with presumably his belongings inside it, and a bed on the corner with a window. The window beside the bed is small enough that he cannot escape from there, essentially leaving his exit only being the door. However, that is fine for him.

After making sure he locks the door by trying to open it, he immediately looks down the window and sees a patron of the bar walking outside. With that, he tosses the key at the man walking outside the bar, a young soldier with brown hair. The young man suddenly looks up and curses at Naofumi.

"What the heck is your problem?"

"Sorry, I accidentally drop the key. Would you mind taking it to the counter so I can take it in a few minutes?"

'Oh yeah, and why should I do that?"

To that, Naofumi tosses a bag of silver coins at him. The young soldier opens it to find at least three hundred silver coins inside it. He looks up to find a nodding Naofumi, which in turns makes the soldier nod. After Naofumi settles the deal, the soldier returns inside, hands the key there, before he walks out and reports to Naofumi.

"Just between you and me, I'd do it for less. Let me know if you're short of funds okay?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot."

The young soldier gives Naofumi a wave of hand, thankful for his payment, before disappearing to the night crowd.

With that preparation done, Naofumi sits on the bedside. He gives himself one long sigh before he plops into the bed. The ceiling above him looks nothing like his own apartment room. It takes him a long while but now the realization sinks in that he is in another entirely different world. Maybe this is fate, a new beginning for him.

With that in the back of his mind, he disrobes and sleeps with only his pants. Laying on the bed, he pulls up the thick blanket to cover his body. With his vision looking at the lit candle in the ceiling, his mind drifts to sleep.

* * *

**Special Thanks to the Shield Hero Discord.**


	2. Framed

Naofumi wakes up to the sound of knocks from behind his exit door. He looks through the window and finds the sun slightly above the farthest building in the cityscape. The cavalry comes later than he expects, his expectation is to wake up earlier and seize the day before the sunrise. It is regrettable that he does not have anything to relieve his thirst, but he does know how to get one. He walks toward the door after wearing the clean shirt from his wardrobe and knocks back at the door.

"If you want to open the door, don't break it. The key's in the front counter."

After a short amount of time passes, the door opens with three men and a woman in shining armor that covers them from head to toe. Naofumi assumes that they are knights that directly serve the king. Naofumi does not see any familiar faces, as they seem to be from different groups that guard somewhere other than the throne room. To be honest, Naofumi can grasp what is going to happen in a few moments, and it will prove his suspicion of Myne.

"Why do you lock the door, huh? Are you actually trying to kill yourself, Shield Hero?" the guards standing forefront says. His thuggish, middle-aged face and his decorated silver sword by his waist are the two traits distinguishing him from his subordinates. That cocky smile on his face is something that Naofumi cannot stand, no matter the world he is in, but it does feel oddly nostalgic to him. "A report from your party member makes it seem serious, but I can see that you're fine and healthy. She just scared an old man for nothing, that woman."

"Myne said that? That's as desperate as one can get, I suppose," Naofumi thinks to himself for a second, picking the best choice he can take at this moment. Finally, after a few moments of awkward silence, he asks the forefront soldier. "Is the King available today? I'd like to make an appointment with him."

"Well that's just perfect, Shield Hero," cackles the fore-soldier. "You've just been invited to attend his invitations. You can dress as is and we can go straight to him right now," the soldiers raise their weapons at him in accord with their leader. "So, Shield Hero, I hope you won't resist this arrest."

It is unwise for him to retaliate here, considering it is his best ticket to see the king himself. Naofumi can afford to play along for now, but if he sees anything suspicious then he is afraid someone is going to be hurt today. "Sure, just let me get my stuff from the wardrobe."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Shield Hero. We have to confiscate your belongings too." Naofumi ignores him and begins dressing up and getting ready with everything in his wardrobe. "Hey don't just—fine. I can just get them later. Once you're ready we're moving out of this inn."

"I'm ready," Naofumi says. "Let's go."

"You sure take your sweet time," the thuggish soldier sighs. He turns arounds and signals his men to secure the Shield Hero. "Then let's move out. Come on people, move it. Move it!"

"Right," Naofumi remembers. "Where's Myne?"

"She's already in the castle and waiting for you," the soldier curtly says. "It doesn't concern you. So move it."

Naofumi does not bat an eye at the threat, goes back to his wardrobe, and picks up his belongings. He slings the leather bag behind his shoulder, and goes back to the door. He watches from the corner of his eyes for suspicious movements from the soldiers, watching their arms and hands for impulsive attacks toward him. Naofumi exits his room, goes downstairs, and places a few coins on the front counter to the bow of the receptionist, before walking out of the inn with a few soldiers eyeing swords at him.

Walking in the main streets again, the Shield Hero notices how the air of the previous day and the air of the present time are inherently different. The main streets are less bustling, which the guards definitely play a part on. It seems as if the people fears the law enforcements, but does not adore it in the slightest. The gazes these people give are similar to what Naofumi sees in his old world, but it feels refreshing for Naofumi when they do not direct their gazes at him.

The castle seems the same as yesterday, but Naofumi cannot shake the feeling that it feels sinister somehow. The castle is huge, to the point that it is imposing to look at, but Naofumi cannot help but feel it is not what the castle's intended purpose is. High defensive walls riddled with cracks surround the castle gate, making it hard for people to climb in or out of the castle's fore and backyard. The spikes that the top of the castle's walls sport seems new, but there are already signs of rust from mismanagement from the cleaning staff. The entrance letting Naofumi inside has guards that let Naofumi and the guards in a slacking manner, not even a check or a stop. Regardless of how bad the quality of law enforcement has fallen, Naofumi walks past the slacking gate guardians and up the giant stairs toward the main castle door, where two guards ready themselves to meet him.

"It's the Shield Hero," says one of the female guardsman. She looks older than her male partner that is standing on the other side of the main door, but both are of the same division of knights with armor a quality inferior to the guardsman that is escorting Naofumi. "What's he doing here with the king's guards?"

"...Something's fishy here," says the younger guardsman as he stops the knights. "Halt. King's guardsmen or not you must show your entrance permit."

The guardsmen leader looks at the young blood with indifference, before he procures a roll of paper from one of his belt-pockets. The young guardsman scans the document, before looking back at the thuggish knight. After returning the document, he stares at Naofumi with concern in his eyes, but making sure he does not stare too long to be noticed. His condolence is not lost to Naofumi, as the Shield Hero knows what is waiting for him further inside.

Naofumi walks inside the castle, where the king's guardsmen behind him close the door to seal his exit. It is not his intention to run away at the present, but there is no way he can open the door on his own even if he tries. If he wants to exit through the main door, he needs to find one or two helpers to open the front door, or find a way to climb his way out of the spiked walls. Maybe he can find a rope or something else to help him flee.

From the main door, Naofumi remembers the layout of the castle. Now he is in the main hall, where various decorative armors line to the side of the bright and big red carpet that goes from the entrance to the end of the hall. There are a few rooms of huge interest for Naofumi, for one being the locations of the officer's quarters that secures the first floor of the castle, as he already spots at least four quarters ready to spill out soldiers to block his way. The next room he needs to prioritize is the supply room and the armory, and judging from the absence of rooms labeled such in the main hall, then it can only be located deeper inside the castle. The last of Naofumi's concern is the other rooms that link two to four rooms together, such as the hallways and the stair-rooms if there are any. The lack of information regarding the castle is going to be one of the factor he needs to worry about, because when bad situation turns worse he needs a good escape plan. He hopes that it does not need to do anything unnecessary.

At the end of the main hall are two stairs that mirrors each other, with a platform in-between the stairs that overlook the first floor from the second floor. There is a door below the platform. A single knight guards the door, but the way his posture slacks tells Naofumi how inexperienced the knight is. If Naofumi can guess what is inside the door, it is the door to the castle's basement. To the side of the stairs is a door each with hallway plaques on the doorframe. Upstairs, past the entrance to the hallway leading to the throne room, is the same door he recognizes from his first memory here. Naofumi places his hand on the steel gate as if greeting an old friend as it opens slowly to reveal King Aultcry XXXII sitting on his throne, his face smug, and his demeanor confident.

"We've arrived," the thuggish soldier says. His hand reaches for Naofumi's shoulder, before he pushes him inside the room. "The Shield Hero has arrived!" announces the soldier, and then he continues. "For the crime of abandoning his party member in the wilderness and suspicion of committing suicide, the trial shall begin."

The three heroes are there, looking at Naofumi with disdain and contempt. Naofumi wants them to show an expression that does not look cliché for him, but with his current circumstance, it is only natural to give him doubt. The Shield Hero slowly walks into the center of the throne room, where two guards with their spears ready are barring his further advance toward the throne. There is at least fifteen steps away from Naofumi's fist and Aultcry's face, long enough for a river to stretch in-between but short enough for Aultcry's words to reach Naofumi's ears.

"Shield Hero, I know you're going to show your true colors sooner or later. Is it the manner of your world to abandon your companion in the wilderness?" His eyes are full of rage, as he stares with bloodlust on the Shield Hero. "What do you say of this, Shield Hero? For the crime of abandoning your companion, I should be punishing you with death, but it seems you have tried committing suicide yesterday. Is that true, Shield Hero?"

"That is not true, and a baseless accusation," Naofumi replies. "Bring me my companion, Myne Suphia, here."

"Ah, but she is already here, Shield Hero," Aultcry waves his hand toward the three heroes, revealing behind them Myne Suphia. "She has given her testimony that you have abandoned Myne in the wilderness outside of the castle gate. This testimony is accurate to what the castle guards are saying. They saw you enter the town but they do not see Myne entering with you."

Naofumi looks at Myne, who is smiling at Naofumi with animosity towards him.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Myne?" Naofumi starts. "Do you want to frame me for something that I have not done to you?"

"What are you talking about? You did all those things to me!" Myne's screams are echoing through the throne room, sadness and fear artificially mixing into one. "You grabbed me and forcefully carry me into the forest before you have your way with me! What you did then is unspeakable! You are despicable, Shield Hero!"

"You—" Motoyasu's eyes shot wide open as he points his finger at Naofumi. "You raped your own party member? What the hell, man?"

Naofumi falls into silence as he cross his arms and replies with a confident. "That's a lie."

"How could you say it's a—"

"There is no evidence, first of all," Naofumi turns to Motoyasu and proposes his ideas. "The testimony that the town's guardsmen say can be falsified at the request of the king to frame me." Naofumi continues by walking three steps back, where he begins his rationality by pointing at the thuggish soldier that leads him into the throne room. "What makes me sure that it's a false accusation is how the soldier announces that I am accused of 'abandoning my companion', and not for 'raping my companion'."

"That's purely semantics!" Motoyasu responds.

"Then, Spear Hero, show me the evidence where I raped Myne!" Naofumi yells at Motoyasu, and it makes him wince in silence. "Unless you have something meaningful to add to this conversation, stay there and shut your damn mouth!"

Motoyasu's face is aghast, unable to process how aggressive the Shield Hero is. He raises his voice before cutting himself, looks down to think about it, before grinding his teeth in silence at his inability to retort. Then he looks back at Myne, who is visibly crying a few tears from her eyes and returns to look at Naofumi.

However, before Motoyasu could even speak a word, Naofumi's glare cuts the confidence of whatever Motoyasu wants to say and leaves him speechless.

"Why are you not saying anything, Motoyasu?" Myne cries a few more tears out of her eye sockets. "Are you going to believe him rather than my, your party member's, own testimony?"

Before Motoyasu could respond to Myne, Naofumi cuts between their conversation.

"So what if she cries one or two crocodile tears?" Naofumi frowns at Motoyasu, who is slowly unable to compose himself. "If you are foolish enough for believing her third-rate acting then so be it, however, I believe that you are better than that. What do you think a Hero should do in this situation? Believe whatever a 'victim' is saying without finding the truth about it yourself, or be led by the nose by this 'victim' and damning a fellow human being for her accusations?"

"I—" before Motoyasu can answer, Aultcry slams his fist into the side of his throne.

"Silence," the king says. "I have enough of this shenanigan. Shield Hero, due to the sudden arrival of a new accusation for you, I am inclined to believe Myne's testimony over your own reasoning. There might be forged evidence in the midst, but it is by my judgement that what your companion is saying is true."

"If this country's leader cannot see the snake's venom when she spits them," Naofumi's glare sends sparks in-between himself and the king. He then continues. "Then this country is doomed under your leadership."

"You dare disrespect the kingdom that summons you here and dub yourself their hero?"

"I am summoned here against my will, and with the goodwill that I have I decide to help you to fight the waves. Still, even then, an incompetent king such as you wants to make people obey your orders like a sheep. Hell sooner will freeze over myself bowing my head for you!"

"That is the only choice you have!"

"Wrong!" Naofumi's words echoes throughout the throne room. "You can return me back to my own world."

"I cannot do that, Shield Hero. Until the other three heroes are dead, the summoning of the heroes will not be reversible. And killing the three heroes will not help our cause in the slightest, for they are crucial in our plan to defeat and eradicate the waves." The king laughs, finally feeling that he is superior to the Shield Hero. "You are standing on the soil of this kingdom, Shield Hero. I suggest that you do not do anything harsh and behave yourself!"

"You can't make me!"

"I can and I will!" the king stands up and orders his men as his fist rise into the air. He slashes his hand forward, fingers clutching the figure of the Shield Hero that fits inside the palm of his hand. "Guardsmen, arrest the Shield Hero!"

The two spearman that stands in his way previously runs toward him at the same time, but Naofumi already anticipates the attack and dashes toward them. Seeing the opening in the Shield Hero's form, the two spearmen thrusts their polearm at him, but this does not worry Naofumi in the slightest. He skillfully raises his shield to his chest to meet the two guardsmen. As the tip of the spearmen's spear makes contact with Naofumi's shield, Naofumi slams his shield into the ground. The spearhead follows the impact of the shield and are now stuck inside the floor. Naofumi then runs up the spears' handle and up the arms of the confused spearmen, before jumping and landing ten steps closer to Aultcry.

Not stopping with the momentum of his jump, he rolls a step forward and runs up the stairs leading to the throne. With each step that he takes, Aultcry's expression slowly distorts into fear. The guardsmen that stays beside the king's throne draws their swords and rushes forward to meet Naofumi's shield, and there is a sign of relief in Aultcry's expression.

There are two soldiers before Naofumi now. One tries to slash his neck while the other thrusts forward his sword's sharp tip into his abdomen. Naofumi is taken aback from how they are legitimately trying to slay him, as if his life does not matter to them, but that feeling subsides over his drive to survive this chain of event. Strangely, with how much violence he is getting the first thing in the morning, Naofumi feels nostalgic. It is as if he is already back home. The sound of metal grazing against air, the adrenaline rushing into his brain and the intensity of his heart thumping as if on fever lights the fire in his eyes. The movement of his opponent is slow, as if he is looking at a slow motion screening in a horse race.

The neck slash comes first, and getting his neck slashed will kill him. Before the sword touches his neck, Naofumi ducks and weaves under the sword and jumps. Mid-air, he twists his hip and makes himself horizontal, before slamming his shield against the swinging sword so it clashes with the sword thrusting forward. With two steel clashing against each other, the soldier swinging his sword loses his balance and Naofumi capitalizes on it. He pulls back his right arm and sends his knuckle into the soldier's chin. He feels his fist lightly digging into the soldier's chin, he is definitely weaker than when he is in his home world, but it is enough to send the soldier wobbling back and falling while clutching his chin.

The soldier that is thrusting his sword is now ready with his stance again, this time ready for the Shield Hero. Naofumi looks at the figure of a fully armored soldier and finds himself with a small pool of options to take. If only he has another weapon that is not his shield, he can decimate the other soldier without a problem. All that is left is to take the soldier's attack head on and see if it works.

Naofumi rushes forward, shield first guarding his head, and jumps at the soldier. The soldier locks his sight at the shield, but Naofumi locks his eyes at the soldier's feet. Swiftly, he picks the soldier up by his armored legs and holds the soldier's shins by his shoulders. Naofumi hangs him by his shoulders and is about to slam the weight of his back against the soldier's own, but he feels a stinging pain in both of his grips as sparks of light jolts Naofumi's hands away from the soldier. The soldier now flying high into the air, he screams in confusion as he falls neck first to the stairs behind Naofumi and is now completely out cold.

The message that he sees in Erhard's shop appears again, as if spitting on his effort on finding a loophole in the system, but he does not mind when he is only five steps away from Aultcry XXXII. Putting his best foot forward, he marches slowly and unopposed toward the king, who is now shrieking with both hands up and frantically guarding himself on his throne. Naofumi only needs two light taps using the side of his shield to swat the hands away and place his free hand on the king's neck.

"If I catch anyone doing something stupid, this man dies!"

With a single command from Naofumi, the entire room screeches into a halt. It is as if the entire room is frozen in time. Naofumi looks around the room, scouting if there is anyone doing anything suspicious. The heroes are trying to do something, but failing to react in time. Myne is not moving, but she is trying to do something, and he needs to be ready when she does. The entire king's guardsmen stop in their tracks, unsure of what they should do next now that the Shield Hero destroys their chain of commands.

After making sure that everyone is in his or her places and not moving from there, he returns with his business towards the king.

"You cannot make me," Naofumi repeats. "You cannot make me buckle under this kingdom's pressure over something that I did not do." His eyes glaring straight into Aultcry's eyes, with the strength and force equal to the heat of the sun, sends shiver throughout the king's spine. He is not facing with a hero right now, but of a beast that is a few inches away from taking his life. The king himself is far from calm. His legs are shaking and his bowel movement is irregular, the urge to soil himself growing stronger and stronger with each passing second of him being in close proximity with Naofumi. "A king like you has no right to be ordering anyone around. You are weak, insignificant, and fragile, which despite these arms' shortcomings in current strength, is able to grip you by the neck and corner you like a hunted dog.

"Now, here is what you're going to do. You are going to call off this sham of a trial, declare that the Shield Hero is not guilty of any crimes, and you are going to forget that this ever happened in the first place. Do you understand?"

The king nods.

"Then declare that I am not guilty and you are absolving any accusations directed towards me."

"The Shield Hero is not guilty of any crimes!" the king shouts from the top of his lungs as he closes his eyes from fear. His voice reverberates inside the throne room and it forces everyone in the courtroom to listen. He opens his eyes again to see Naofumi's eyes still drilling inside the king's mind. Consumed in fear, the king repeats it again. "This trial of the Shield Hero is concluded, and the verdict is not guilty! He is free to go!"

"Hey, Myne," Naofumi turns to Myne, who is very surprised at the sudden callout. She is trying to do something under her breath, judging by the sparks of fire flickering around her that slowly disappears, and Naofumi is not the least bit surprised about it. "Does your kingdom believe in a religion?"

The redhead does not answer, which returns Naofumi's glare to Aultcry.

"Do you believe in a deity, king?"

"I..." there is a moment of silence, as Aultcry's eyes wanders around and turning away from Naofumi's. "I believe in a higher being, yes."

"Then you better pray to him right now." Naofumi pulls back his arm, forms a knuckle with his hand, and launches his fist toward the king. In an instant with high-pitched scream that fills the air, Naofumi's fist hits the throne's recline to the right of the king's right ear. A loud bang resounds all over the room, making everyone wince when their ears hear it. After a brief pause resulting from the large bang, King Aultcry XXXII slumps down on his throne as he soils himself through his kingly garb. His eyes rolls back as foam start spewing out of the king's throat. The man that controls the Kingdom of Melromarc, Aultcry XXXII, is now in such a sorry and pathetic state that they can only do nothing but stare at the rising figure of Naofumi. With each steps he takes walking down the stairs leading to the throne, the soldiers that are going to rush him by the king's order quietly gives way for him. His walk outside of the throne room is brief, uneventful, and overall anticlimactic.

That is, until a stray ball of fire blitz its way against the air and straight into Naofumi's back. His ears notice the new sound forming in silence and place his shield toward the fireball without looking at it. The defense of the Shield Hero is high, to the point of being impenetrable, and this exchange of power against defense shows just how sturdy the Shield Hero's defense is. To swat a fireball into nonexistence without as much as wincing is unheard of, especially for a hero that Myne knows is not higher than level 2.

Naofumi turns his eyes toward Myne, who is now staring back at Naofumi. To say the least, he is disappointed at how Myne conducts himself, but still find himself unable to hate the woman. Throughout his life, Naofumi can see past a person's outer persona and to find someone so similar to him in this otherworldly existence can only be pinned on destiny's work.

"The offer still stands, Myne. I'll take you to that high class restaurant when I have the money."

No response from Myne, just as Naofumi expects.

As he stands outside of the giant door leading to the throne room, he looks back one more time to witness everyone still in silence. Naofumi leaves the hallway and into the main hall, where there is no cavalry waiting to fight him. In a way, Naofumi feels disappointed. How can it be so easy? Even back in his home world the Yakuza will station their men outside of the meeting room to pummel down on the cocky upstart son of a bitch. This is just sad.

Walking outside of the castle and then outside the gate, he meets no resistance, only eyes from people that stares at him in disgust. Not even the castle gate's guardsmen says anything to him, they just let him pass unopposed. If this is the quality of soldiers in Melromarc, then this kingdom truly is doomed.

"Hold on just a minute, Shield Hero!" comes a voice from behind him. With a slight smile, Naofumi turns around, hoping to meet someone who is going to, at the very least, stop him from walking leisurely outside. To his surprise, Itsuki the Bow Hero stands where the road leading to the castle is. He is ready, his bow in his hands and eyes locking at Naofumi. "Your name is Naofumi, right? May I have a few seconds of your time?"

"Itsuki," Naofumi grins. "Finally, I found someone with a backbone in this kingdom. What do you want, Itsuki?"

"I want you to apologize."

Naofumi sighs. "To who, Myne? You know that bitch is faking everything, right? I take you as someone smarter than that libido machine Motoyasu, but I guess I should not judge a book by their covers, huh?"

"Not only to her, but also to the king," Itsuki replies. Eyes looking straight at Naofumi. "I want you two to make up and settle your differences in a more civil, peaceful ways."

"Are you touched in the head or something or are you just that dumb? What do I gain from settling everything peacefully with that old fart?"

"He's the king of this country. And you humiliating him in-front of his subjects will create a bad reputation for him."

"Then maybe he should not try to do something so stupid in the first place. That trial is nothing but a sham orchestrated to create my downfall for political gains. If I do not assert my position right now, there is no telling what these people will do next time. They could be doing something to hinder my progress when fighting the waves or actively becoming an unnecessary roadblock in the future."

"But what you've done is still not right!"

"You should have done something in the throne room then. Saying anything now does not prove anything but how late you are to the conversation," Naofumi walks closer to Itsuki, but stops when an arrow flies past Naofumi's cheek, grazing his ear, and hits the ground and stays in place. Naofumi turns toward the arrow as he feels blood coming out of his ear with his right hand. Then he turns to Itsuki, a smile forming in his mouth. "Are you sure you want to do this? There is no take backs once the fight truly begins."

"The next shot is straight to your head, Shield Hero," Itsuki warns. "And stop calling me using my name. It makes me sick."

"You will just have to make me!"

Another shot and an arrow whistles in the air straight to Naofumi's head. Itsuki is not bluffing, but he is too kind for telegraphing his attack. With the arrow bouncing in the air, Itsuki takes a step back as he fires another arrow at Naofumi, this time he aims it at Naofumi's legs. His eyes widen when Naofumi sidesteps the arrow and continues forward with his charge.

Naofumi runs as fast as he could, dodging another arrow that Itsuki aims at his shoes with subpar accuracy, and makes his way toward the bow-user. It shows how poor Itsuki is at using his weapon, as he is not yet fully adept on using it. With another arrow he dodges, Naofumi finds himself less than five steps closer toward Itsuki. In desperation, Itsuki releases a barrage of arrows shot haphazardly at Naofumi in the hopes that at least one of them can pierce his defenses.

However, reality is not as kind to him. Naofumi lowers his stance and charges through shield first toward Itsuki. The arrow that he sends at the Shield Hero he easily deflects without as much as losing speed in movement. Finally, the two of them is in fistfight distance, close enough for Naofumi to gain total advantage against Itsuki. The Bow Hero neglects his spacing in battle, and is now about to pay his price.

The first attack the Shield Hero uses is charging forward with his shield, which Itsuki receives in full force. Flying on his back at least a meter back, Itsuki quickly lands on his feet and pulls the string in his bow. Naofumi finds himself charging straight at a sparkle of light coming from the tip of Itsuki's fingers, and that sparkle of light turns into a swift and hardened beam of light that hits Naofumi square in the stomach.

Naofumi stands his ground, though the damage stings all over hi stomach, as he winces in the sudden pain that bypasses his defense. Not missing a beat, Itsuki closes in on Naofumi with another sparkle of light in his fingers, but this time Naofumi is ready. As Itsuki jumps above Naofumi and twirls in the air for momentum, Naofumi is ready with his shield above his head, and as the light in Itsuki's fingers hardens with his mana, the Bow Hero releases it straight to clash with the Shield Hero.

* * *

**VERSUS**

**ITSUKI KAWASUMI**

**THE BOW HERO**

* * *

Naofumi receives the arrow with his shield. There is no hesitation in his eyes. With Itsuki behind him now, Naofumi swiftly turns toward Itsuki and find his shield stuck with two arrows. The shield glows for a second as the arrows disappear from it, but Naofumi pays it no mind.

"Take this, Shield Hero!" Itsuki yells as he shoots an arrow each time he takes a step back to distance himself against Naofumi. One, two, three, five, seven, nine arrows are sent into Naofumi's way at a speed that no ordinary man can respond against. However, Naofumi is not an ordinary man and with effort manages to block Itsuki's strikes. "Damned monster, why won't you lose already?"

"I am not weak, Itsuki," Naofumi's eyes glares at the Bow Hero. His shield is just below his line of sight, ready for Itsuki's attacks. "You need to hit me with your best shot, or else you will never be able to defeat me!"

"Shut up!" Itsuki screams as he sends three hardened light arrows toward Naofumi. "If you can guard this, go ahead. I would like to see you try. 'Light Arrow'!"

Truthfully, Naofumi is not sure if he can block it all. The first blows from these lights are still hurting him even now, and he is not sure if he is able to survive another blow to the same spot. It is impossible to dodge the arrow within this distance, and blocking it halfheartedly will just strain his arm and makes him easier to damage later on. Yet, he needs to push onward. He needs to act first and ask questions later, and so he pulls up his shield toward where the light is aiming at and hopes for the best.

When the light hits his shield, it causes a blowback that sends Naofumi back a meter. With no time to recover, the second light arrow hits the shield again, and this time it hits so hard that it sends his shield-arm to the back of his head. Now, he cannot recover fast enough for the third light arrow, and he needs all the guts he needs to survive the intense damage. In his mind, Naofumi prepares himself for the pain, and steels himself for the upcoming blow.

The third light digs deep into his abdomen past the leather reinforcements, and the blast sends Naofumi flying into the grassy ground at least four meters away from where the arrow hits. He looks up to Itsuki with his chest wincing in pain and slowly stands up, but Itsuki does not want this chance to pass him by and sends another light arrow at him. It is unknown if it is because of Itsuki's rage or Itsuki's spirit, but the arrow is faster than the last one.

Quick on his feet, Naofumi is on his knees as he takes the blow straight with his shield. When he stands up, however, two arrows of light greet him with its blazing fast speed and its sparkling tip piercing the air in front of him. However, Naofumi is confident that he can survive this one, though his chest and stomach has wounds that sting with great intensity.

The two arrows hit the shield simultaneously, and it sends him flying as far as the side of the castle's entrance. Naofumi slides down the wall, like a greasy meat sliding down an oiling pan, but he quickly gets up on his feet as if nothing actually hits him. This is in part the power of the shield and another part the result of his own tenacity. It still hurts him like hell, sure, but it does not mean that he is down for the count just yet.

"Why won't you stay the hell down?" Itsuki screams as he tries to send another light arrow, but unable to gather the necessary mana for it. And now in his sight is the Shield Hero walking towards him, ready to attack him with the might he shows on the king of Melromarc. He tries pelting him with regular arrows, but it is not as effective when Naofumi can easily swat it mid-flight with a shield facing forward. To see his arrows ineffective against Naofumi, he cannot do anything but indulging his insanity over and over again as he shrieks to the figure of Naofumi that is walking ever closer to him. "Stay away! Stay away!"

"No."

Naofumi is now in close distance to Itsuki. It is close enough for Naofumi to land a clean hit at the sniffling Bow Hero. Therefore, Naofumi raises his hand, forms a fist, and slams it against Itsuki's cheek that sends him into the ground. Before Itsuki could recover and shoot an arrow, Naofumi kicks the bow away from Itsuki's hand before crushing the Bow Hero's fingers with his heel. As Itsuki screams at the sight of his irregularly bent fingers, Naofumi's fist rains down into Itsuki's chin and makes him lay down and unmoving.

"You're strong, Itsuki," Naofumi lets out a big huff. "But you're still too naive, too kind. You are not used to fighting a person, are you?"

With Itsuki out of the way, Naofumi resumes his walk outside the castle's wall. After his show of strength against Itsuki, the guardsmen are too terrified to look at him. The Shield Hero walks out of the castle's perimeter safely, without anyone to his knowledge following in his trail.

However, soon after he arrives in the main street, his injury slowly catches up to him. With wounds worsening in his chest and stomach, the Shield Hero wobbles as everyone he meets along the way refuses to help him. They speak of the rumors happening around him all over the town, to the point that he does not feel safe going back. He still has his belongings around his waist, being his sparse amount of silver coin and a single change of clothes. He is not really in the best shape to stay at an inn, what with Myne possibly cooking up a plan to arrest him when he is unconscious. If there is anything Naofumi trusts to be the safest for him, however, is to attempt to find it in a place he will least expect it.

The same alleyway where he sees a person coming in with less coming out is now in front of the Shield Hero. Taking a deep breath, he slowly enters the path to darkness looking worse for wear with each seconds passing.

After a long walk shooting into the dark, the man passes out with the clear sky betraying him.

Soon after, the warmth of the sun disappears in exchange for a cold and unfeeling rain. Slowly but surely he is going to lose his mind here before dying just like a street rat. Then again, this does not feel any different from the way a person such as him will probably die in his old world. At least, the sense of similarity gives him a sense of relieve.

Too bad that it ends the way it is, but he truthfully has no regret. He lives his life to his fullest. What is there to be regretful about?

His eyes now closed, Naofumi slowly drifts into his deep consciousness.

Unbeknownst to him, a brown-haired girl with a collar on her neck approaches him. She wears a dirty rag that is full of stains not even the wearer is sure where it comes from. It could be from vomit, it could be from blood, or it could be from both. Her ears, located on top of his head alike to an animal would, perk up at the sight of the Shield Hero laying lifelessly on the ground. She reaches for the man's arm and found something close to a pulse, and gives a warm smile.

Behind the animal-eared girl, a figure smiles menacingly. He is surely encountering with the best jackpot in his life, and cannot wait for his investment to bloom. After an order from him to the girl, the two of them disappears with the figure of the Shield Hero disappearing into the shadows.


	3. Kid's Meal

"The suspect has been apprehended, current time is 18:20, requesting order for detainment."

The sound from the other end of the metallic device distorts slightly along with the noise from the rains outside. Both of his hands behind his back, the raven-haired man look up through one of his beaten-black eye toward the man in uniform. Noticing his beast-like gaze, the police officer kicks down his prey into the ground. There is a loud splashing sound as the bruised eye meets the ground, and afterward there is a loud cracking noise coming from the fallen man's stomach. The bastard successfully cracks a rib bone, and out comes the blood from the coughing mouth.

"Don't do anything funny," the police officer says. "Pull anything funny again and I'm crushing your face. Not like anyone is going to believe you over a police officer anyway."

The voice from the metallic device returns, this time with an affirmative from the other side of the electric line. "Confirming the suspect's capture and approving the order for detainment. Stay put where you are, officer, the police force will arrive in ten to fifteen minutes. Stay safe and don't let the suspect out of your sight."

"Yeah, yeah," the rude police officer snide dismissively. "You don't have to remind me every single time old man. This isn't my first rodeo."

"What you're trying to capture isn't a common thug, dumbass. Don't take him lightly or you will be sorry."

"He's just an old ghost from two years ago and he's not even older than me. What can an eighteen year old do against a grown adult with a gun?" cackling laugh cuts the question quickly as it fills the empty back alley. "That's right, nothing! This crook is not even worth the police force's time, honestly. He surrenders without much of a fight! This is the man that shakes the Japanese Police Force, are you for real?"

"Look, just stay safe out there alright?"

The police officer gives no reply. His sight returns to the man on the ground, currently laying down as listlessly as he can. Within a few moment, the officer clicks his tongue. "Come on. Is that the extent of what the famous Tiger of Kamurocho can do? The legend makes you to be this unbreakable, unbeatable, and undefeated badass that roams around the dark streets serving justice to evildoers, but you're just pathetic."

'...I'm done playing heroes."

"Oh, finally going to talk? Go ahead we have time until the force arrives."

"This is all just some stupid game I'm a part of. It sucks that I can't be unwilling about it," the man laughs, not because it is funny but because his words is coming out full of regrets. "My friends are threatened, my home destroyed, and the world is out to make myself as miserable as it could. With my arrest here, it will be the end. Finally I will be freed from these dumb chains."

"Cool story bro, who's out there making your life a living shithole anyway?"

"Your employer, most likely," the man replies. "You're not going to deny it, right? No way can loose cannons like you be a part of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department. Someone's probably pulling some strings for you to get to me." The fire begins to light inside the man's eyes as he sees the flinching expression of the police officer. "And that someone is probably the ringleader of this little circus."

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Fess up already," the man sits against the wall after a short effort to balance himself. "You're employed by the Tojo Clan, right?"

The police officer gives no response, silently eyeing the now standing bruised man instead. Without uttering a word, the police officer pulls out the gun from his holster and aims it toward the suspect's feet. With a loud bang, a hole bores through the criminal's thigh and he falls down limping on one knee.

"One more word and I'll blast the other thigh."

The suspect laughs, though there is a hole inside his left thigh. "Bingo."

"I warned you," there is another loud sound ringing through the empty alleyway, but the one that falls on his back is the police officer. He swears that he has shot the Tiger of Kamurocho with his own hands, but how does the Tiger manage to send him looking into the raining sky? "What the—how the hell? What the hell did you just?"

Without uttering a word, the Tiger of Kamurocho steps close to the police officer's head and slams the sole of his feet into the bridge of the officer's nose. There is a loud cracking sound coming from where he steps on and what follow is the eyes of the officer rolling black. Soon after, blood begins to run down the officer's nostril as he faints into the dreamland.

"Hero," a voice calls to the Tiger, who recognizes this voice. "Hero, are you there?"

The man called Hero looks back on the caller, a figure of a girl in her twenties. With a bullet wound on his thigh, and a blurry vision coming from his eyes, the girl at the end of a long hall seems very vague in shape. However, the Tiger knows her very well, and he does not want her presence near him.

"I am not a Hero," the Tiger shakes his head. "I never am, and never will be."

"Don't say that, Hero!"

"I told you I'm not a Hero!"

The entire ground begins to shake, as the walls and the grounds around the Tiger breaks apart in large chunks that falls above him and flies into the sky. He can see everything around him starting to disintegrate into sparks of memory that goes into the void, one small particle at a time. On the far end of the alleyway is the girl the Tiger recognizes the most.

"Hero, wake up!"

Naofumi slowly opens his eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar steel-black ceiling. He tries to raise his head, but the ceiling is shorter than he thought and he hits his head. Though there is now a visible-looking dent right above him, he finds himself slowly being able to get a feel of everything around him. He is now inside a small cell made out of metal, and around him are similar people of various stature inside the same type of cage as him.

However, everyone have ears or tails of animals growing out of them.

His whole body is full of bandages. His abdomen and stomach are still aching, but the pain subsides after a short while. He looks at his chest and finds himself still clothed, but there are bandages going under his clothes. He realizes that someone must have seen his back when they tend to him, and he wonders if anyone sees the inks on his back. His spine twitches, sore from his back leaning against the cold floor. Then he looks to the side where a girl is looking at her with tired eyes, but tinges with life.

Then his worries go straight out the window with another one replacing it.

"Hero, you woke up!" finally, Naofumi notices the unfamiliar face beside him. "I'm so glad. I found you fainted in the back alley and it's just so happen that you're allowed to recuperate here."

Naofumi eyes the girl beside him, who is clearly of early age both in physique and in mentality. Her eyes are brown, the same color as the girl's eyes, and they stare back at him listlessly. However, on a closer look her eyes are actually of a redder spectrum, it could be the lighting of the cage playing tricks on Naofumi. Her skin is light-colored, though looking pale around her face, and there are visible signs of bruises around the neck and shoulder visible through her dirty rag she uses as clothing. It does not dawn upon Naofumi that he is looking at a slave until he sees the black leather collar with chains dangling around from its front, and this makes him instinctively holds his hand against his neck.

To his relieve, there is nothing similar to a collar on his own neck.

His eyes return to the little girl, who has a pair of animal-looking ear on her crown. Her brown hair is lush and flowing up to where it touches the dirty floor of this small metallic cage. However, what piques his eyes the most is the ink he sees coming out of the girl's chest: an inscription in the form of symbols that merges to form a magical circle. It is then that Naofumi realizes that the girl is an animal-human, who happens to be a slave.

"Shield Hero, you are awake I see!"

The voice appears from the darkness and it startles Naofumi to a small degree. He conceals his presence until he decides to speak up, and despite the approaching man's body is looking a lot like an egg with legs his smile is still very intimidating. It is revealing the man's sharp teeth in a wide and cunning grin. From how fancy his clothing is Naofumi can guess where the man is standing amidst the beasts inside their cages.

"Who are you?" Naofumi asks. "Are you the one that saves my life?"

"Well, yes, quite," the mysterious man says. "I am but a humble monster tamer, but encountering you is a stroke of luck on its own, Shield Hero."

"Elaborate," Naofumi concisely replies.

"You see, Shield Hero—"

"Naofumi," the Shield Hero cuts before the monster tamer proceeds. "Naofumi Iwatani."

"Mhm, yes, Mister Naofumi isn't it? Such a fine name for an otherworldly being I might add. Though I should cut the flattery for now," it is as if the monster tamer is able to read Naofumi's mind. It is not something that Naofumi often say, but he is not the kind of person who gets soft from being flattered. "You see, the reason why I sheltered you here is of one thing and one thing only: You have the potential to be my best profit machine!

"My name is Beloukas, a simple monster tamer. I run this joint of mine in search of profits. It is completely legal, so rest assured that you are not breaking any laws," Beloukas smirks, revealing his pearly white teeth. "Not that you have not broken any rules before you are here anyway. I heard the rumors, you know. That is, about you having your way with your companion in the woods just outside of Castle Town."

"Oh, did they find the proof of me raping Myne?"

To that word, the animal girl winces as she stares into the Shield Hero. She is not moving, but her eyes strictly glues into Naofumi.

"No," Beloukas responds by shaking his head. The expression in the animal girl slowly brightens with a soft huff. "Nevertheless, I am convinced you have not done the deeds myself. Rumors fly by fast these days but not this fast. It has not been 12 hours yet."

"Of course I haven't. Anyone that believes in baseless rumors like this is either stupid or out to get something out of it." It looks like the royalties are the one conspiring against him. "Seems like my hunch is right about her, she smells so similar to someone I know."

"What smell?" Beloukas inquires.

"It's nothing. I'm just rambling to myself."

"Sounds like you're quite experienced with this," Beloukas smiles at Naofumi. "However, that is not what I am about to sell you, Naofumi. Are you interested in buying some... tamed animals for your journey in this world? I'm packing up some of the best batch of monsters you can find in this world."

"Just call them what they are, Beloukas," Naofumi looks at the animal girl beside him. "She's a slave. You are selling slaves."

"...Well, you can say that." It is as if the curtain around Beloukas suddenly drops. His mannerism does not change, but the air around him seems less sinister and funny. Now it feels like Naofumi is talking to a businessperson who is selling his wares, instead of a smuggler promoting his contraband. "It is true that I am selling slaves, demi-humans and non-human slaves to be exact. How are you interested in taking a look at some of the things I'm selling?"

Naofumi's eyes sharply glares at Beloukas. Chills send shivers down the slave trader's back, and cold sweat drips down his forehead. The drop goes down his cheek, before finally dropping down from his chin in a matter of minutes. The silence is broken by the single drop of sweat falling on the ground, which creates a small sound of water splashing against dry sands. Beloukas moves his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his face, his heart feeling a fear he never feels before from the man before him.

"You... are you really the Shield Hero?" Beloukas mutters. There is something not quite right with the current Shield. He is too accepting, and yet too distant to assess his true intentions.

"I'm not a Hero," Naofumi speaks in a dry, dismissive tone. "I never was, and never will be."

"But that means you accept my proposition, yes?" Beloukas laughs. "It's not as if I am hearing a 'no' out of you."

"When you found me, did you find me yourself or did one of your slaves notice me?"

"Ah, very perceptive of you, Shield Hero," Beloukas says as his big stubby hand points at the little animal girl beside Naofumi. The girl's body shakes and shivers when the slave trader points his finger at her. "That girl finds you all tuckered out in the middle of the alleyway just a few distance away from this tent. I have faith in the intuition of demi-humans, you see."

Naofumi turns to the girl, who is scared to look straight back at him. What expression does he make right now? All he feels is disgust to everything around him, and it might distort his face in a certain way. There is no mirror to check, but he knows his expression is not soft. He sighs to his current situation. How does he get into this situation in the first place?

All of it starts from that book.

He sighs. It is not a sign of defeat, but a sign of acceptance. He reaches for the girl's crown with his right hand, the hand closest to the girl, with both eyes locking with the little girl's own. There is visible rejection from the little girl as she closes her eyes to brace for the pain, but it never comes, she only feel warmth from the hand that is now ruffling the hair in-between her raccoon ears. When the raccoon girl opens her eyes, she finds Naofumi giving her a small, but heartfelt smile.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You have taken a liking to your savior, Naofumi?"

"Sure does," Naofumi says. "How much is the price for her freedom?"

"Fifty silver coins," the response is immediate, not missing even a single beat. "But for you, Shield Hero, I am willing to grace you with thirty silvers instead. Isn't she a bargain?"

"What's the catch?"

"Well, she's a raccoon demi-human so she is born blessed in short-range combat. It's just going to be a matter of picking the right weapon for her. On top of that she's still young so she has a great room for growth, and I'm sure she will grow differently in a great way if she's under your care. Now, the downside to her is that she is sickly, cursed with panic attacks and disease she accumulates from her previous owners. I'm sad to say this but her price is also taking into account how she is basically a third-hand, no, a fourth-hand goods."

"Ridiculous," Naofumi clicks his tongue. "You can't put usages on a person's soul."

"I'm sorry, Naofumi. I really do. However, that is what the market put standards on. Some of my buyer aims for first-hand goods. That's just how it is in this world."

"...Sadly, I can see your point," Naofumi returns his gaze to Beloukas with his hands free from the softness of the raccoon girl's head. "But tell me one thing for now, Beloukas. Where do you get your slaves? You said that this girl has been going through three different masters before. What does she do before, or to be exact, what do her previous owners make her do?"

"Ah, yes," Beloukas gulps. "Most demi-humans around her age... are usually only bought for their—you know what... however, it is either through fortune or misfortune from her disease and weak constitution that she has not been... ravished... by her previous owners." His voice is filled with sadness. It is as if Naofumi is hearing the voice of a tired old man. "Rest assured, that I am not dealing the slaves I sold into that kind of slavery. Most of the fresh batches I have are for utility or fighting purposes."

Somehow, Naofumi cannot believe him.

However, he needs to buy the raccoon girl her freedom first. It is only right to trade kindness with kindness.

He reaches out for the back of his waist and inside the arm-sized pouch where his spare clothing and small purse of coins are inside. He picks what appears to be thirty silver coins, count them one by one, and gives Beloukas thirty-one coins. It looks strange for Beloukas, but his gaze back at Naofumi meets with a sharp reply. "That one silver coin is for my freedom... and other necessary prices. For example, what you see on my back may need to be kept a secret."

Beloukas laughs. "Right away, good sir."

With a skip and a hop, Beloukas returns to where he comes from. Naofumi then places his hand on the cage surrounding him and opens it. Once outside, he looks around to find other cages clattered all around him, with each of its inhabitants looking at him with various type of pair of eyes. Beloukas' words have some truth into it, as most of the slaves Naofumi sees are either full of bruises and injuries, shows their physical prowess in their figures, or both. It is unfortunate that he cannot save them all at this moment, but with the right amount of money, maybe someday they too can taste their freedoms.

For now, he bows at them with respect before looking back at the girl still in her cage. "Do you have a name?"

"A... name?" she points at herself, and Naofumi nods. "My name is... Raphtalia."

"That's a beautiful name, Raphtalia."

The idea does not sink in, but when it does the raccoon girl shows a big smile. However, the moment of warmth soon ends when the girl begins coughing. Naofumi cannot help himself but pull the little girl out of her cage and outside in a heartbeat, where he feels how cold her entire body feels. She is not in a healthy condition to be moving around, and is clearly in need of his protection and care.

"Are you looking for a way to cure her, Naofumi?" Beloukas returns with what appears to be a parchment, an ink vial, and a thickly lined, short cut horsehair brush in his hands. "Then you better inscribe her with your mark of slavery first."

"Why?" Naofumi replies. "She needs her freedom. Being my slave is the opposite, isn't it?"

"Yes, but no, I'm afraid. In Melromarc, demi-humans are not the top priority of its society. It's harsh to say this, but you should know what happens to an untended demi-human living in this city in particular. Have you seen people coming in groups but leaving in few when entering back alleys?"

"They abduct innocents to sell them as slaves?"

"That's right. Usually slaves I bought from them are given a job in Melromarc under my connections. You can see them if you search hard enough, but aside from their slave crests they function as normal people to the standard of this kingdom to a degree." The tone of a tired old man does not escape Naofumi's ears. Maybe Beloukas is telling the truth about his view of demi-humans. "Plus, being linked with your slavery mark will raise the constitution of your slave proponent to their master's. I assure you, Naofumi. I do not want to be a slave trader, but things that go on in this world just never go your way."

"I don't believe you just yet, but your argument is convincing enough," Naofumi's thought turns to people in his previous life that returns to the life underground without their consent. If this will let bad things stay away from Raphtalia, then he can shoulder the burden of owning a slave. "If this is truly for her safety, then I will do it. But once she is healthy enough to fend for herself, I will remove her mark."

"It will hurt the slave for a little bit, so you might have to bear a little scream from her."

Naofumi nods.

"Come, there's a bed near the entrance. Help me carry her there."

There are a few moment of silence afterward, but following the small respite is an ear-deafening scream from Raphtalia. It echoes throughout the dimly lit tent. The scream does not settle until dawn shines lazily through the gap of the tent's entrance to greet Naofumi and his slave. With a brand on her chest, the girl walks out of the tent with Naofumi, wearing the baggy new clothes inside his waist-pouch.

The parting with Beloukas is quick. A few goodbye from Naofumi and Raphtalia and they are off to the main street of Melromarc. The Shield Hero is looked differently by the people that meet him, but Naofumi moves past them and into one of the safest locations that he knows in Castle Town. He hurriedly goes past the civilian district and into the marketplace, eyes looking around for wanted posters, and past the marketplace and going a bit off the main path is the blacksmith shop run by Erhard. He does not see a wanted poster all the way to the blacksmith's store, and it is either an amazing coincidence or it is an elaborate trap by Myne.

Opening the store's door, Erhard winces at the sight of the Shield Hero with a little animal girl in his hand. He looks at the girl, scanning something to see if his hunch is right. When he sees the chest of the little girl has circular crests adorning it.

"Naofumi, did you buy a slave?"

Naofumi does not deny it.

It is not wrong in this world to own slaves, or the practice will become illegal at the drop of a hat. That is not what angers him, however, but what comes out from Erhard's mouth afterward.

"And is that the result of you raping your companion?" Erhard shuffles from the back of the kiosk and gets himself close and personal with Naofumi. "Are you feeling strong now that you are the Shield Hero?"

To his defense, he expects something of a warm greeting. However, what comes from Erhard is a fist the bulky man readies himself to swing across Naofumi's cheeks. To that, the slave beside him looks at the muscular man and cuts in-between them.

"Move outta the way, little lady," Erhard says as he cracks his knuckle. "I need to talk with your master you see, says around town that he just has his way with his companion somewhere in the woods."

"He didn't do it!" Raphtalia screams. "I don't believe you at all!"

That takes him a little bit out of his game, surprised that the slave is taking the side of the Shield Hero. "Little lady, I advise you to step aside," Erhard's eyes move from Raphtalia's face to the Shield Hero's. "I have some business with him, first."

"I didn't do it," Naofumi stares back at Erhard. Both eyes sharply drill themselves into the blacksmith's mind. "I won't ask you to believe me, but that is the truth. I did not rape Myne Sophia."

Mere words do not sway someone so easily, but the tenacity and determination inside Naofumi's eyes tell a different story. At that point, Erhard completely buys what Naofumi is selling. Call it a hunch, a feeling, or experience, but to the blacksmith, there is no room for doubts in his words.

"I believe you," an instant reply from Erhard as he lowers both of his hands. He then flashes the Shield Hero with his brightest smile. "I knew someone like you wouldn't have the gall to do something that horrendous. I can be a good judge of people, you see, and my eyes and hunch tell me more about your companion than they do about you, though I have no proof to back my claims."

"No, that word is enough to convince me," Naofumi laughs. "That Myne girl is a rotten girl through and through."

"And still you believe in her?"

"Shouldn't judge a book by its cover," Naofumi sighs, "but sometimes you just can't help it when the book is not as good as its cover."

"True that," Erhard then looks at Raphtalia, who is confused at what is happening. "So this here's your slave, huh? A bit too little for a fighting companion, isn't it?" He eyes Raphtalia from top to bottom, all the while his fingers glues to the goatee on his chin. "Seems like she's not that good at fight, what with her complexion and all that, but if I can guess she's going to be a good swordsman comes the right time."

"Then I'll take the sword you offer me two days ago."

"Nah, that's too big for a small girl like her," Erhard turns around and goes back behind the counter in search for something else he has in mind. "I'll pick some good short sword that weights light proponent to her height. I'll give you a good discount for it too."

"You're a lifesaver. I don't have that much money left."

"If you have some good money to spare, treat that girl to good food and fine medicine," Erhard's head peeks from out of the counter to make sure Naofumi gets it. "She's going to be your traveling companion from now on, right? You better keep her healthy and happy you hear?"

"Yes sir," Naofumi chuckles, and his chuckle proves to be contagious as Raphtalia begins chuckling with him. Noticing that, the Shield Hero cannot help but tease her for it, like how a father does to his daughter. "That's a nice smile you have."

Blushing, the raccoon girl slowly moves away behind a shelf full of breastplate and hides herself from Naofumi's sight. Seeing that, Erhard cannot help but laugh, as if he has seen something so rare and precious he has not seen in a long while. Soon after, he finds what he is looking for and places it on the counter.

"Found it, a good set of armor and weapon for the little lady."

Spread on the glass counter is a set of armor tht is made of new leather. A brown filled-leather long sleeve, a red outer layer for the shirt with a darker brown tarp stitched to its front. Alongside that is the tight-fit looking kid's trouser that is made to protect the thighs of the little lady. As if covering all the necessary precautions, Erhard also throws in a small glove with steel frame to protect the forehand and a pair of small greave to protect Raphtalia's knees, shins, and feet. Finally, there is the sword in question. It is small and sleek, it looks sharp, and there is a leather scabbard to accompany it along Raphtalia's waist.

"That's going to cost me a pretty penny."

"It is. Sixty-five silvers in fact."

"That's... are you sure?" Naofumi's eyes shot wide open as his pupils shrinks. "That's so cheap!"

"Hey, I don't want a loyal customer going into other people's stores."

Naofumi feels like he is about to cry, but those tears are held inside his tear ducts through sheer will and determination to act strong. Though the voice crack kind of gives away his true feelings. "That's... thank you. Thank you very much."

"Remember me when you are famous, okay?"

"I will," Naofumi looks at Raphtalia, "Isn't he nice, Raphtalia?"

"Yeah, I agree," Raphtalia nods. "Mister Blacksmith is a really good guy!"

"Aww, geez you are making me blush, here."

The warm mood soon dissipates when Raphtalia turns pale all of a sudden and starts a great coughing fit, however. By the fourth coughs, Naofumi is on his knees to look at Raphtalia's face. He places his hand on Raphtalia's neck and force the girl to turn her head softly towards him. It is a bit ungentlemanly on Naofumi's part, but his concerns bypass all manners of decorum at this point. True to his horror, the girl's body is warm as if burning up, but there is no sign of excess fatigue or severe dehydration in her complexions. For now, Naofumi can only point at the common cold.

"This is horrible. You're not fit for battle at all."

Raphtalia cannot respond any other way but with a weak and tearful 'sorry' after she finishes coughing her fit away.

"No, it's not your fault," Naofumi shakes his head. "We're going to stay the night for now and go out tomorrow once you feel a lot better, okay?"

This time, Raphtalia is the one that shakes his head.

"No, I don't want to!"

"Raphtalia, don't be so difficult. It's for your own good!"

"No, no, no! I don't want to!"

"Naofumi, can you at least hear what she has to say first?" Erhard sighs from behind the counter, hands crossed with eyes sternly staring at the Shield Hero. "Look, I know it's going to weird you out but slaves don't actually get this kind of treatment that often. Most of the time, slaves that are unable to be useful to their masters are sold at a discount and the master will find a new one with the added price. And if they are unable to sell the slaves, they'll work them to the bone or until they die getting there."

"What is wrong with this world's society?"

"That's what it means to be a slave and live with slaves in this world, Naofumi. It's just something that happens without much thinking in anyone's part," Erhard looks down and sighs, but Naofumi can see that he is thinking of something. After a few moment, he looks up at Naofumi with a smile. "But hey, if you can find in your heart to feel empathy for her then maybe things are looking up for this world. I ought to tell you something good then, in the forest outside of this Castle City far to the south is an area filled to the brim with herbs. You might be able to gather some material there to create healing potions for the little lady."

"How much do you want me to pay for that info?"

"Take it easy, sheesh, I am not about to swindle a regular. Just be careful out there, okay?"

Naofumi cannot help but show a big smile towards the big blacksmith. "Thanks," he then turns to Raphtalia, "Alright, take your time changing your gear okay? And if here's anything wrong you can just yell. Fitting's room just a hallway behind that door behind the counter."

"...Okay," the girl says weakly, but there is a smile in her face. She then turns to Erhard as she gathers up her armor and weapon, which is surprisingly lighter to carry with both hands than she thinks, and gives the blacksmith a smile too. "Thank you Mister Blacksmith!"

"It's my pleasure, little lady," Erhard says as he opens the door to the backroom. After Raphtalia disappears in the other room, he turns to the Shield Hero. "I feel like I'm getting old by the day here."

"Sorry about that," Naofumi walks to the counter and turns to the nearest empty wall to lean against. "It seems like I am going to trouble you for a long while, Erhard. Thank you."

"Bah, don't mention it. It's a pleasure for me to help one of the four heroes."

"Is that so?"

After a long while, Raphtalia finally returns to the shop with her new attire. The clothing that Erhard picks matches well with Raphtalia's childish physiques. It seems that Erhard does have a good eye on judging the characteristics of a person. Naofumi nods alongside Erhard as Raphtalia sees the two of them with raised eyebrows and a monotonous expression.

"Now that the girl is clothed, I think you should clothe yourself too don't you think?' Erhard moves his hand to circle Naofumi's everything. "You need to take care of yourself too, you know?"

Naofumi looks at his everything, being a shabby and dirty short-shirt and trousers.

'How much are you selling a set of clothes?"

"It's old so I'll sell it for ten silver coins."

"Can't you go any cheaper?" Naofumi scoops up a few silver from his pouch and counts up to six of silver. "Six silvers. That's my final offer."

"You drive a hard bargain, Naofumi," Erhard laughs as he goes to the back of his store, though there is no animosity in his voice. "You want a small pouch too for twenty bronze coins?"

"That would be helpful."

Back from the back of the shop, Erhard hands Naofumi a set of clothes: black long sleeved shirt under a leather coat, a set of trouser with its leather belt, a small white pouch with finely knitted string, and a leather boots as a bonus. To finish the look, Erhard gives Naofumi a green cape to wear around him and possibly cover his exposed shield.

After a few moments of changing their clothes, the man and his slave duo walks out of Erhard's store a happy customer. The two of them avoids the crowd by walking around the main street through the edge of the Castle Town. Scaling the thick town walls, the Shield Hero blends well within the lower class inhabitants of said district. There is a sense of satisfaction in navigating through the small alleyways and unexpected shortcuts through the city, it also doubles as an opportunity to find good places to buy or sell things at lower and higher than the market price. Naofumi feels at home the most in this part of the town, and the only things that are missing are the hooligans that roam this part of the town.

It is all a good feeling until Raphtalia's stomach starts grumbling. The grumbling is a loud one that does not drown in the sea of chatter around them. Naofumi looks at the little girl, who is insisting that she is not hungry while profusely shaking her head.

'Let's find something to eat."

"Muu..." something close to acceptance rings out of the girl's mouth. "But I'm not hungry."

"You can't fight on an empty stomach."

There is a moment of silence as they continue their walks.

Then she nods, though weakly.

"Good girl," Naofumi smiles as he pat the girl on her head before ruffling her head. "Now, let's find a good restaurant. Okay?"

"Okay."

The two of them walks around in a square along the stone pavements for a short while. Finally, they find a good-looking inn-restaurant some distance away from the castle walls in the outskirt district. Entering the establishment, however, he meets with various eyes that glare daggers towards him.

"That's the Shield."

"That girl walking beside him, is she his slave?"

"Not only is he a rapist he's also into demi-humans? That's disgusting."

Naofumi walks toward the counter with Raphtalia looking around him. The restaurant is not small enough to contain a great space for everyone to eat in, but it is not big enough for people to attend more than eight joined tables. A small line of table by the counter is currently empty with a few seats waiting for customers, and there is where Naofumi and Raphtalia sit. Raphtalia needs a few moment before she stands beside Naofumi, who is now sitting comfortable on the wooden chair.

Noticing this, the Shield Hero turns to the little girl.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you sitting on the chair?"

"I can eat on the floor just fine," Raphtalia says.

"Nonsense," Naofumi picks Raphtalia up, resulting in the girl shrieking in surprise, and places her on the wooden chair beside him. "There. Forget about what your previous masters tell you. You're never eating on the floor."

"Oh... okay."

A faint smile appears on her face.

The crowd behind them starts to simmer into their natural discourse, but there remain a few shifty eyes looking at Raphtalia and her master. Her ears pick up various words that she does not understand well, but all of them are surely insults. She wants to say something to them, but she feels that it is not right for a slave to say something so out of the line to them.

It is then that he eyes see something in the corner of the restaurant.

There sitting on the corner of the restaurant a family of humans: a father, a mother, and their son, all of them smiling and laughing around each other as if in their own world. Looking at them, something stinging appears to invade her eyes, but only for a short moment. She eyes the father's smile, the caring side of the mother as she wipes the food off the son's mouth with a napkin, and the son eating happily from his meal. She misses from such happy scenery, but she forgets what it is.

"What would it be for the infamous Shield Hero," the waiter behind the kiosk-counter, blonde-hair, average height, dresses nicely in leather clothes and black pants, huffs. Naofumi can tell that he does not want to serve food for him, but he has his pride as a cook to serve the best meal for paying customers. "Will your slave eats breakfast alongside you too?"

"One of the cheapest meal set you have."

"And what's for you?" the waiter scoffs as he takes Naofumi's orders. "We recommend the finest meat we have, though it will be wasted on your stomach."

"No thanks, just give the little lady what that family's kid is having," Naofumi says as he points at the table where Raphtalia's eyes directs. "The cheapest meal set is for me, you see."

The waiter raises his eyebrow before clicking his tongue. A small grin now appears across his face. "Sure, right away, Shield."

With that, the waiter moves to the kitchen, and Raphtalia's eyes returns to Naofumi. Eyes wide, pupils small, and her expression are full of disapproval. "You don't have to do that!"

"You don't want to eat that meal?"

"It's not like that!" protests the little girl. "Why are you being so nice to me? My previous masters—"

"Your previous masters do not mean shit to me," Naofumi cuts in-between her sentence. Raphtalia freezes up to the sudden low tone of voice with a shriek. Raphtalia has her eyes closed, too scared to see the expression on her master's face and what will come at her afterward, but what she expects never comes. Because when she opens her eyes, she only sees a warm smile on Naofumi's face. "I'm going to treat you right. I swear that I will give you the happiness you deserve. For now, I'm going to give you the strength to defend yourself, and later on when you are strong enough to be independent your freedom."

Raphtalia is speechless, unsure of what to say.

Yet, she feels an intense amount of happiness welling inside her chest.

The next few minutes of waiting for their food has happiness adorning their atmosphere, and the entire restaurant seems to be moving along with their antics. Now the dissent in their voices seems to be yesterday news, as the patrons are now slowly looking at the Shield Hero with a new perspective. Some shifty gaze remains locked to him, but now just a few.

"Here you go, Shield," the appearance of the waiter with a plate of food on her hand makes Raphtalia's ears perk up. The waiter is a brown-haired young girl that is younger than Naofumi, who cannot help but contain her smile. She places the plate of meal before Raphtalia with a smile, but then when she hands the cheapest meal to Naofumi she gives him the biggest frown in her arsenal. As she bows her head slightly, the voice that comes out of her mouth signals a warning to Naofumi. "Enjoy the food."

It could be Naofumi's last, after all.

Taking a fork the waiter places beside the plate, Naofumi picks what appears to be a flaky bacon strip and eats it.

Tastes like sand.

He then turns to Raphtalia, who is right now eyeing the meal before her with sparkles in her eyes. The meal is like a convenience store lunch, a small serving of fried rice with two small red sausages, a small dosage of what appears to be a swirling spaghetti noodles with a pinch of tomato sauce, and to finish the assortment a small scoop of flan-like substance with syrup on top of it. A flag on top of the fried rice signifies what it is: A Kid's Meal.

"Can I—" Raphtalia starts, her head turning to Naofumi's. "Can I really eat this?"

"Of course you can!"

Without picking up the spoon, Raphtalia picks the fried rice with her hands and send the disorganized pile of rice into her mouth in one magnificent gusto. The girl then picks up the sausages on the other side of the plate with her other hand and eats it together with the fried rice. She munches it quickly, savoring the taste inside her mouth, before swallowing it in one strong gulp down her throat. With a strong expression, she finds her food stuck inside her throat, but she forces it down her throat forcefully. After a few moment of pain, she then goes back to scooping another pile of rice from her plate.

"Slow down," Naofumi says as he eats what appears to be a small tomato that tastes like watery paper. "Is it really that good?"

Raphtalia's face is brimming with joy, her eyes sparkling and shining with stars and her mouth grinning wide with happiness. "It's really, really good!"

"Is that so?" Naofumi smiles. He picks up what appears to be dried lettuce leaf from his plate and eats it. It tastes like a bitter and dry leaf. "Make sure to chew slowly next time, alright?"

Raphtalia nods as she picks up another scoop of fried rice.

As Naofumi look at the sight of Raphtalia eating happily, he still cannot shake the feeling of wrongness in all of this. She is just a little girl tasting the happiest meal in her life, showing how harsh her life must be prior to this. He clenches his fists, almost to the point of drawing blood with his nails. At that moment, he swears to make everything right for her, for this innocent girl wronged by this very world.

The thought of Myne slowly appear in his mind, and the last few ingredients in his plate become even bitterer by each bite. Though he harbors little hate for the girl, he knows in the back of his mind that she is going to be the cause of further hardships. With that thought, he hopes that the rest of the day will not be too harsh for him and Raphtalia.

For now, he prefers to savor this little happy moment with her.

* * *

**Special Thanks to the Shield Hero Discord for Catching my Mistakes on this Chapter.**


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